The Language of Love
by Reader4Lyfe
Summary: Bella is a well to do programmer with her own business but the secret she's hiding may destroy her only chance at happiness. Jasper is a well known tattoo artist who owns a number of shops. When he meets Bella, his world changes but will his own secret tear them apart or bring them closer together? AU. Mature. Jasper/Bella
1. Prologue

**The Language of Love**

**Hey folks! No, your eyes do not deceive you! This is me starting and posting a new story. Technically, I was going to post this over the summer, but I kept hitting road blocks, got lazy, and well, frankly, lost confidence in my writing. But I come to you today, er night, because I'm under a lot of stress and I needed an outlet. One that will hopefully, get me some positive remarks/feedback, although I'm not adverse to constructive critism either. But anyways, this is a new pairing for me but I ship it so haaaard. Lol. I've read a crap load of stories for them and I love it, so I decided to try my hand at it. So we'll see how this goes.**

**See me at the bottom.**

**Prologue**

**BPOV**

I knew that the minute I stepped inside that shop my life was going to change. Whether or not it was going to be a good or bad change remains to be seen. One thing I did know was that if I didn't go in, well, I'd be stuck with this pain for the rest of my life, which is one lifetime too long.

_Pull yourself together, Bella, you can do this_.

I straightened my shoulders and set my jaw. Looking up at the sign, I took a deep breath in then blew it out and reached for the door.

Today was going to make me or break me.

I just hoped I made it because if I broke, I'm sure I'd be able to put myself back together again.

**So, that pique your interest?**

**If enough folks are interested, I may start posting on a regular schedule, but as of right now, I'll be posting when I feel like it. I'm not sure how long this story will be but I hope to be at least two chapters ahead at all times, simply for my sanity. Also, I have just about everything outlined so I know where it's going. Chapters may start out on the small side but they will get longer. Once these folks start talking to me, it's all over then.**

**Also, I'm in the market for a Beta, one that's preferrably over 18 due to the material that this story will eventually touch. PM me if interested. Being able to bounce off of someone will greatly help aside from editing and pre-reading.**

**I may post tomorrow, so be on the look out. **

**Night, folks.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi folks! Sorry for the tardiness. I was hoping to get this out yesterday but I needed to do my homework. Yay for college! NOT! Anyways, enjoy.**

**Any mistakes are mine. I'm tired and still without a beta. Pm me if interested.**

**See me at the bottom.**

**I forgot the disclaimer but if I did own, I would not be stressing about not having a place to live in three weeks. **

**BPOV**

"Did you get the memo from Jessica about the Volturi account? Caius Volturi called while you were meeting with Mike."

"Yes, I did. I wrote up a report and sent the beginnings of a security program to Eric and his team."

"Okay, I'll check with him and see when a good date is to set up a meeting for the presentation. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds good, Angela." I said.

"Is it me or did he sound arrogant and pushy?"

I laughed. "No, you're right. He seems to think he knows everything, even how to write a security program. That's got to be the third time he's called this week. I'm so glad we didn't give him direct lines."

Angela was giggling nodding before I finished my sentence.

"Yeah! We'd be hearing from him a lot more than we want to. I wonder what Aro thinks."

I shook my head. Aro Volturi was the older brother who seemed a lot more humble than his high tempered sibling.

Angela and I finished a few more things before she gathered her papers, signed _See you tomorrow_ and left my office after I waved.

The Volturi account was going to really put our business on top. Swan & Weber Technologies was one of the top security firms on the west coast. Angela and I designed and implemented state of the art security systems. If we could land this account, we'd be national. Volturi Industries was a multimillion-dollar company specializing in anything from mergers and acquisitions to pharmaceuticals. They wanted to upgrade their security before they went international. By upgrade, I mean they wanted an entirely new system, which was a behemoth of a job considering it hadn't had any work in at least five years. Just the thought of how their system looked right now made me cringe. It was so old, disturbingly so, for such a profitable company.

But that was about to change.

I had no idea what I would do without Angela some days. When I finally turned 18, I left for college with the clothes on my back and never looked back. Angela was my roommate at UCLA and she was just as quiet and shy as I was. We both majored in Information Technology, although she minored in business, so we had almost all the same classes together, although we rarely talked. Most of the time, I read her lips or wrote things down. I choose not to speak and although I could hear her, barely, I was more scared than anything. I was not there to make friends, I was there to get done and get out and far away. But Angela didn't treat me like she had an ulterior motive. She didn't make fun of me because I couldn't hear or chose not to speak. She treated me like I was human, like I was her friend, a feeling with which I had never felt before. And although I tried not to let on to the fact that I craved this new friendship, apparently, I wasn't as subtle as I thought. When Angela realized just how much I needed her and that I preferred to use an altogether different form of communication, she surprised me by walking into our dorm room the first day of our second semester and signing, _Hi, my name is Angela. How was your winter break?_ I was so shocked my mouth dropped open, I blinked, and then replied, _Nice to meet you. I'm Bella. My break was fine. You?_ And the rest is history.

I sighed, looking at the stack of papers on my desk. This was going to be a long couple of months. In addition to the Volturi account, I had a smaller account to work on. A nice woman named Esme Platt owned a small business designing wedding and bridesmaids' dresses. She started out at home but her business had grown so much that she was buying a space. Angela had told her that we usually don't work with small businesses and that while we weren't too expensive, we weren't cheap either. Ms. Platt had explained that money was not an object, that her son was paying for the system and he only wanted the best for her. Well, we couldn't argue with that.

While Angela handled the larger companies, I worked with the smaller ones. This was mostly because I did not always have to meet and speak with them about every little thing. Most of the time, the majority of issues could be solved with an email and that suited me just fine. Even though Angela was quiet herself, she worked well with other people and sometimes even thrived when giving presentations to prospective customers.

Really, I'm not sure where I'd be without her.

I gathered up the documents and my laptop, packed them in my messenger bag and headed out, checking that all the doors were locked and our system was backed up to my private server. Everyone else had already left for the week. Friday nights, I usually let my people go a little early. Most days they deserved it; coding was the bane of our existence but we all loved it.

My employees knew I could talk but chose not to, except with Angela of course, and since I hand picked everyone who worked for me, Angela and I devised a system in which they could communicate with me and me with them. Everyone had to learn a few basic signs in case of emergencies but we had codes for certain things, and everyone had to make sure I could see them when they spoke to me. And emails. Lots and lots of emails.

I didn't live far from the building the office was located in so I walked. Downtown San Francisco was nice at night, especially since the weather nice and warm. About 15 minutes later, I left the business area and entered the residential area. Five minutes later, I was unlocking the door to my house.

It was a modest house with three bedrooms, two baths, living room, dining area, kitchen and balcony. I barely made it completely in the door when my dog, Buster, a two year old German Shepherd, leaped at me.

"Hey, Buster! Did you miss me?"

He barked and licked my face, which he knew I hated but secretly loved. His butt wiggled in time with his rapidly wagging tail. I hugged him and scratched between his ears before I made the gesture for 'down' to which he obeyed. I closed and locked the door behind me, arming the alarm system that had disabled when I opened the door. I had designed the locks, keys, and system and only me and Angela had keys to my place, her for emergencies.

I hung my keys on the hook by the door and toed off my shoes. I headed to the kitchen, Buster on my heels. I poured him some food and refilled his water bowl. I grabbed the lasagna I made the day before from the fridge, plated a piece and popped it in the microwave. Buster chowed down and when my food finished, I grabbed a bottle of water, a fork and headed to my room.

Turning on the T.V. on, I tossed my bag on the bed along with the water. Buster trotted in my room just as I was finishing the lasagna. I scratched between his ears again and he licked my hand. I grinned at him. While he got comfortable on my bed, I went back down to the kitchen and tossed my plate, before going through the house and making sure everything was locked up. I hopped in the shower shortly afterwards, and clad in blue boy shorts and an old college t-shirt, I climbed into bed. I yawned heavily then turned the volume on the T.V. down. I hated sleeping in the dark. Although I was not a heavy sleeper, every little sound tended to wake me up no matter how tired or exhausted I was. I shivered as the memories of the reason why rushed through me. I couldn't go there again, not tonight. Before turning off the lamp on my bedside table, I glanced briefly at the notebook that held the tattoo I designed and wondered if I'd ever be normal, if I'd ever be able to be whole.

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><p><strong>So, did we like the glimpse into Bella's life?<strong>

**Next update will most likely be this weekend. Sorry. Work and school control my life. I'm hoping I can have up to Chapter 3-4 done by then. We'll see. **

**R4L**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi, folks. I apologize for the lateness. I had homework to finish. And since I wasn't getting any sleep tonight, I figured I'd write something. Y'all should appreciate my insomnia. ;p I do get everyone's reviews and I've read them. I'll try and reply to the ones I can this weekend. You all don't know how much I appreciate them.**

**Any mistakes are mine.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own. I'm just playing in her sandbox.**

**Chapter 2**

**BPOV**

_I huddled in the corner, drawing my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them tightly. My hair stuck to my face as tears streamed down my face. I was cold and hungry. The floor was hard and uncomfortable. The darkness was oppressive. I tried my hardness not to make any noise because if I did they would hurt me and then laugh about it afterwards. A beating I could take, it was the mental abusive that was wearing me. What did I do to deserve this? What was wrong with me? What did I do wrong?_

_The floorboards above me creaked and groaned with heavy footsteps. A moment later the door to the tiny room opened and I flinched. The light from the room blinded me and made him seem a lot bigger and scarier. And apparently, I wasn't as quiet as I thought._

"_I thought I told you not to make a sound! You stupid little whore. You never listen!"_

_I screamed and struggled as he grabbed my hair and yanked me to my feet. _

"_I'll teach you to obey me."_

_While dragging me out the room with one hand, he went for his belt with the other…_

"_NO! PLEASE! DON'T! I'll be quiet! I can be quiet. Please, James!" I whimpered, my hands grasping futilely at his hand, trying to ease the strain he was putting on my scalp. My back hit each step, stinging sharply, as he dragged me up the stairs._

"_Obviously, you can't. So I'll teach you how." he cackled._

I screamed as I woke up.

I was panting hard and my heart was beating erratically. Buster whined and crawled up the bed toward me. He planted his head in my lap and licked my hand when I went to rub his head. Buster always knew what to do to help me calm down. I slowly regulated my breathing and grabbed a drink from the water I hadn't finished when I had dinner. I grabbed some tissues from my bedside table and wiped at my sweat-dampened skin. I looked at the time on my phone. 4 a.m. I sighed. I wanted to call Angela. She always told me to call if anything happened, no matter how small. But I never did feel right doing that. Dammit. I knew I shouldn't have gone to sleep thinking about how broken I was. A nightmare was inevitable when I did that.

I sighed again and Buster looked up at me.

"What do you think, Buster? Should I call her?"

He whimpered again and blinked at me.

Angela was the one who suggested I get a dog when I bought the house two and a half years ago. It would be the first time I lived on my own and she didn't think it'd be a good idea for me to come home to a quiet empty place. We'd been talking about getting our own places after living together for a little over six years. I was terrified because I didn't want to lose the only real friend I had and even though we'd see each other at work everyday, because I valued and maybe even craved her friendship, I was not willing to give that up due to different living arrangements. But when we both found places within 10 miles of each other, I knew I had no choice. Angela was ready to have her own space, and while I had no problem with that, I still wasn't sure I was ready. And then I closed on the house. Angela found a condo she liked and we made a pact to meet at least once a week for a girls night. Between the presentation meetings and coordinating with Eric on the design and implementation of the systems, we didn't always have a chance to have lunch together at work during the week.

Buster licked my hand again.

I huffed and grabbed the phone. I knew I would call her because she was there during one of my lowest times and if there was anyone I _knew_ I could count on; it was her. Plus, I most definitely wasn't going back to sleep.

"Hello? Bella? Are you alright?" Angela's sleep roughened voice answered after four rings.

She knew it was me because no one else would call me her at this hour.

"I'm alright, Ang. Well, not really but I'm not panicking."

"Nightmare?"

I nodded even though she couldn't see me.

"Yes." I whispered.

"Buster's with you, right?"

I nodded again, and then rolled my eyes at myself. She couldn't see me.

"Yes, head in my lap and all."

"Good. Did your breathing techniques?"

"Yes, Angela." She knew everything.

"Alright, alright." I could imagine her grinning. There was the faint sound of rustling on the line so I assumed she was sitting up.

After a minute or two of silence she spoke.

"Who was it this time?'

I shuddered, not really wanting to recall the nightmare but knowing I had to because if I didn't, the consequences would be worse.

"James." I whispered his name so softly I didn't think she heard me. But she did.

"Oh, Bella. What happened?"

"He was about beat me, after he stuffed me in that room."

"Dammit, if I ever get my hands on him…" she growled.

Buster barked and I knew he heard her tone. I grinned at them both. Angela acted like such a mama bear sometimes it was almost funny. Buster was just extremely protective and reacted to everything.

"Angela—"

"No, Bella, I'm serious. Some people shouldn't be allowed to—"

She stopped abruptly, and blew out a harsh breath loud enough for even me to hear. After a few moments, she calmed down and spoke again.

"I'm coming over."

"No, Angela, you don't need to—"

"Too late, I'm already up. We're gonna do something fun and totally not serious. I'll be there in 20."

She hung up before I refuse again. I stared at my phone for a good two minutes. Sometimes, I was still shocked that she would do things like that for me, that she would drop everything and come running.

"Well, Buster, Angela's coming over. What do you say we move this party downstairs?"

He barked at the mention of her name (he loved her just as much as he did me, if not more so) and his tail wagged.

I got out from under the covers and, after grabbing the now empty water bottle and my phone, headed downstairs, Buster on my heels. I threw the bottle away when I made it to the kitchen while Buster plopped down the floor in front of the couch. I browsed my DVD collection before deciding on _Sixteen Candles_. It was a classic and totally funny. Fifteen minutes later, Angela let herself in, setting the alarm again while toeing off her shoes. She had a bag with her that looked full of stuff. She grinned at me as she made her way towards me. Buster leaped up and planted his paws on her waist, reaching for her face with his shiny, pink tongue. Angela scratched between his ears just as I had. Buster ate up the attention.

I wondered if I should've been worried about that bag and the grin she had on her face.

**~LoL~**

**JPOV**

I glanced up from the tattoo I was putting the final touches on when the door to the shop opened. The monitor on my desk showed a short, skinny man, balding, mid 40s I'd guess, walking towards the front counter. It was five minutes to closing time and I smiled as I watched Rose's face frown slightly before she greeted him. She hated last minute patrons.

_Can I help you?_

The man approached the counter, giving her a rather crude once over. Oh, this was gonna be good. I waved Emmett over when he glanced up at me from the chair on the other side of the office. He moved towards me with a questioning look and I pointed to the monitor that showed the feed from the various cameras we had placed around the shop.

When Emmett looked he smirked and dragged the chair he had been sitting in over next to me.

"What's he saying?" He asked.

While we could see everything that went on in the shop, there was no audio but I could read lips.

_Well, hello there, missy_.

The friendly, albeit strained, smile on Rose's face tightened just a little bit more.

_Hi, what can I do for you?_

_Oh, honey, there are plenty of things I want you to do for me. But let's start with this._

Rose rolled her eyes and I could see her hand clenching behind the counter. Emmett and I snickered.

The man pulled a folded sheet of paper from his back pocket and handed it to Rose.

_I would like to get this on my leg. From here to here._

He indicated from his right thigh on down. I couldn't quite see what the drawing was exactly, it looked almost like a dragon but I couldn't be sure. Rose looked it over and seemed slightly impressed. I wondered how good the drawing was.

_Okay, well, we can appraise it for you and give you a price. One of the other artists will do it though if you decide to stick with us because I don't usually handle larger pieces._

The man grinned lasciviously and reached for her hand. Wrong move.

_Aw, why can't you do it? I'm sure there's something I could entice you with._

Wrong words.

Emmett and I waited in anticipation because we _knew_ Rose was about to flip her shit.

Her hands clenched, crinkling the paper.

_I'd advise you to remove your hand if you would like to take it home with you._ I could just imagine how cold her voice sounded.

Emmett and I were trying to hold in our laughter as the man snatched his hand back so fast, you'd have thought she burned him.

_Now, do you want this appraised or not? If not, I suggest you leave before my fiancé decides to relocate your limbs._

The man paused, eyes wide, before nodding hesitantly. Rose smiled sweetly and called for Emmett.

By this time we were cracking up. The man looks like he was about to soil his pants. I though he might once Emmett made his appearance.

_He's about to soil himself,_ I sign to Emmett. He nodded, grinning some more before composing himself and walking to the front. I laugh some more as the man's jaw drops. I shake my head once he reaches the counter and return my attention to the piece I was finishing up.

It was a fairly intricate tribal piece that a client wanted intermingled with some words and a date. They'd yet to tell me what it meant but I was thinking it was a tribute to someone who died.

Rose and Emmett walked in the office a few minutes later laughing.

"He really thought that would work!" Rose said, shaking her head.

"Jasper and I were watching. His face when you told him to move his hand!" Emmett guffawed and wrapped an arm around her waist.

I grinned at them.

_I was sure he was going to start running_, I signed.

"He was, but I guess he really wanted that tattoo." Rose laughed.

_What was it?_

Emmett handed me the paper and just like Rose, I was a bit impressed at the artwork. It was a dragon, similar to the one in Dragon Ball Z, but different. It was blue with undertones of black and grey. It had wings and was breathing fire. Swirls of orange, red, yellow and even pink almost made it appear as if it were moving. I wondered who the artist was. There was no signature and I'm pretty sure the man didn't do it.

_This is really good. I wonder who drew it._

"He said a friend did it. It was supposed to be a joke but it looked so good that he wanted to keep it." Emmett explained.

I nodded. I'd keep it, too.

_Appraisal?_

"Somewhere between $300-$500. It depends on if he wants to keep the wings or elongate the tail, or shorten the fire."

I nodded. For the placement the man indicated, the dragon would be need to be altered but not by much.

_Okay. Sounds good. Ready to close?_

They nodded and I shut the monitor off, gathering my sketchbooks, pencils, jacket, helmet and messenger bag, before locking the office. Rose and Emmett walked ahead of me, through the shop turning off lights, music, and t.v.s I locked the door once we were all outside.

_See you tomorrow._

They waved before Emmett unlocked the doors to his jeep, got in, and drove away. I walked to my bike. I loved my bike, the speed, the design, the rush. It was the joy of my life, especially on my dark days. I mounted it, turned the key and took off after revving the engine a few times. Bliss.

All too soon, I made it home. I parked in the underground garage of my condo and took the elevator up to the 10th floor. Unlocking my door, I dropped my keys into the table just inside the door before tugging my bag off. I grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen on the way to my bedroom. I tossed my bag on the bed. I stripped on my way to the bathroom, turning on the shower while I did my business. I was bone tired. I had four clients back to back, all with four-hour sessions. My hands and wrists ached so I held them under the hot spray of the shower for a few minutes. I hurried with the rest of my shower, climbing out and toweling dry. I grabbed a pair of sleep pants, tugged them on and climbed into bed.

I hoped that I had tired myself out enough to have a dreamless sleep but my subconscious had other ideas.

My night was full of hiding, terror, screaming and death.

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><p><strong>How we doin', guys?<strong>

**Not sure when the next update will be. Maybe this weekend. We'll see.**

**Review, please. They make me happy.**

**I'm still beta hunting.**

**R4L**


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